- Today's Word
Unfledged
un-FLEJD
Definition
(adjective) Inexperienced or immature; not yet developed.
Example
The intern was talented but still unfledged in a high-pressure newsroom.
Fun Fact
Originally used to describe baby birds without feathers—unfledged later took on a figurative meaning to describe people lacking the “feathers” of experience. Shakespeare used it in Romeo and Juliet, and it still pops up today in political commentary or sports coverage, often with a mix of pity and hope. Think of it as the literary way to say, “You’re not quite ready yet.”
(noun) A natural craving or strong desire; an instinctive inclination toward something
She couldn’t explain her appetence for solo travel — it was simply part of who she was.
Appetence comes from the Latin appetentia, derived from appetere — meaning “to strive after” or “to desire” — itself a combination of ad (“toward”) and petere (“to seek” or “to aim at”). The word entered English in the 17th century, used by philosophers and naturalists to describe instinctive drives in both humans and animals.